1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a truss assembly for the framework of a building and, more particularly, to a pre-assembled truss having a tie-down strap for securing the truss to the wall studs.
2. Description of Related Art
The structural framework of a conventional structure typically comprises a plurality of wall studs spaced from one another, a horizontal top plate extending along the top edge of each of the wall studs and a plurality of roof trusses mounted to the top plate or studs. Roof trusses must be securely mounted to the wall stud or top plate to mount the roof assembly to the wall assembly. A particular problem in climatic regions subject to severe winds is the shearing off of the roof assembly from the wall assembly during high wind storms or hurricanes. This is a particular problem for homes and other structures in the coastal regions of the United States which are periodically hit by hurricanes and tropical depressions.
Government regulations and standards for manufactured homes for use in regions subject to hurricanes now require all roof trusses to be tied directly to the wall studs by enhanced means. Therefore, some means for directly tying the truss assembly to the wall studs is needed.
In the past, relatively complicated brackets and bracket assemblies have been developed to mount the truss assembly to the wall stud. Examples of such known assemblies are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,720 issued Jul. 25, 1966 to Spane; U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,708 issued May 17, 1994 to Frye; U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,483 issued Nov. 2, 1993 to Netek; U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,520 issued Apr. 19, 1994 to Gozdziak; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,547 issued Oct. 25, 1983 to Johnson. Another example of a complicated bracket is commercially available from Simpson Strong-Tie Company, Inc. and comprises a rigid, galvanized steel bracket which is stamped and bent into a particular shape to provide means for securing the upper rafter to the wall stud and top plate for a particular roof configuration.
One problem which each of the known strap assemblies suffer from is difficulty in securing the bracket to the truss, top plate and wall stud. Another significant problem that the known structures suffer from is that the several tie-down means are not easily adapted to differing structural orientation of the truss assembly and the wall stud. Therefore, suppliers would need to maintain a large inventory of several different brackets and the like to accommodate the varying structures being built.